Kings and Ducks play saturday and sunday to kick off the season. Sunday's game will be on Versus when more than half the country is watching the NFL. Brilliant!

Iam not sure how bettman keeps his job, bonehead moves like this just kiss me away is it really that hard to schedule games on days they don't have to compete for fans.. none the less iam completely stoked about the NHL starting a new season i got the center ice package on top of the NFL package and picture in picture.

Colin Campbell was involved with a tele-conference call today discussing the Downie suspension.

Q. Can you characterize what Steve Downie did to Dean McAmmond? What you saw?

COLIN CAMPBELL: Characterize? We had requested this be put on the agenda for the board of governors. As a result, the general managers looked at a number of hits. We had 52 hits from last season that were not suspendable hits, but hits where shoulders were delivered to the head.

And from that meeting on, the general managers in June, it was in Ottawa in the finals, the Competition Committee met and reviewed the same hit.

We convened a group of coaches in late July, early August as well as having talked about the draft to a number of coaches, assistant coaches as well. We had six coaches that were brought in here and we discussed what we had found.

At the end of the day, there were a number of criteria that the groups didnít like, and any of those criteria could get you suspended. At the same time, we wanted to keep hitting in the game of hockey. And legal shoulder checks to the head would be allowed if they were delivered in a legal fashion.

In this case, we felt that ?? and we donít always do this. There are times I call certain people in the league, not involved in this, but involved in the actual group meetings we had this past summer, we discussed that with those people. I discussed with those people, and said this is exactly what we were talking about all summer long in every area ? targeting the head, launching oneís self, every aspect.

And unfortunately Steve Downie participated in all aspects of what the groups didnít want to see in the game of hockey. So thatís how it was characterized. That he crossed the line, and crossed the line in a whole heartedly way.

Q. How did you feel personally when you saw the hit?

COLIN CAMPBELL: Well, itís a hit that as soon as you see it happen live, and I happen to be watching the game live that night. Live, I mean on television. As soon as you see the hit youíre going, I think this ?? as soon as you see it live you think this is going to be a bad one.

Just based on the fact that Downieís position in the air, then when you look at the other aspects, where the puck was released, and itís not hard to identify that with all the work we have done this past summer, and all the videotape weíve watched and all the feedback weíve gotten from groups.

Q. How did Downie react to the suspension?

COLIN CAMPBELL: I donít know. He was here in an in?person meeting this morning. And I called Paul at the airport on the way to Washington. So I let Paul know, so I donít know how Steve Downie reacted.

Q. Is this a clear message to the players that youíre taking hits to the head more seriously than you have in the past. And in essence, are you making an example of Steve Downie?

COLIN CAMPBELL: No, that ?? if you didnít ask that question, it was going to be asked sooner or later, and it was sooner.

We sent out a tape. We made a tape after all these meetings and every team in the league received this tape for their players. And we sent out a supplementary discipline reminder which we do every year. We also included what was read on the press release regarding all the criteria involved.

So the players are fully aware of whatís not acceptable now. And thatís what the Competition Committee is about. The players participated until the Competition Committee and that is what they didnít want to see in the game. Theyíre the ones on the ice, theyíre the real key stakeholders. Itís their careers that are out there.

So we sent that tape out, that was the message. This isnít the message. That was the message. I didnít think it was going to happen this soon, and I didnít think it would be this clearcut.

There were going to be a couple criteria weíd have to rule on. Did he launch himself, was the timing going to be off? But the severity and the suspension was because of all the criteria were almost ?? it was a pass, pass, pass, pass, pass on all the criteria with the exception of the repeat offender. And the reason for that is this is Steve Downieís first year in the National Hockey League.

Q. 20 games is on the Flyers roster. If you go down to the AHL do they have to honor the suspension?

COLIN CAMPBELL: They can do whatever they want. But the games donít count in our league. Thatís up to Dave Andrews and the American Hockey League. In the past, the National Hockey League ?? honor is not the right and proper word ?? but we donít honor or respect. Those are the wrong use of words, but they serve it at that league, and he serves in our league.

And the lawyers will tell you that itís a legal question as well, other than if itís a suspension that has to deal with an official.

Q. Retaliationís got to be a big issue for obvious reasons. We know that the league talked to him. What was the message to Brian McGrattan and anyone that retaliates?

COLIN CAMPBELL: Well, the game of hockey takes into consideration payback to some degree, and lots of it is instances. You hear about the player, for whatever reason, I donít agree with what they say, so they can take care of what they have to take care of themselves. But in this case you canít just issue threats.

We saw that in the Bertuzzi?Moore situation, itís ridiculous to do that. And I had a discussion with Brian McGrattan yesterday, and he understands that. And hopefully Brian McGrattan and the Ottawa Senators understand that. You donít do that. If something happens, nothing will happen, you just canít do that.

Q. What do you say to critics who say this will stiffen up the penalty? One player this week said he should be banned from the game for life. What do you say to people who say this isnít hard enough?

COLIN CAMPBELL: There is a reason we do our job, and a reason, as we said, we donít operate in a vacuum. We had lots of input from owners, managers, coaches and players who have all been involved in the game a long, long time. And hitting is part of our game, and will always be, I hope, part of our game. Itís part of the game of hockey.

As far as critics saying this isnít long enough, I think this is a steep, severe suspension. And if that player who wants it increased, he has an avenue through the NHL Players Association through the Competition Committee to state his case.

Q. The first question I want to ask you is thereís been no real precedent for this type of suspension. Why did you give him so many games?

COLIN CAMPBELL: Why did we give him so many games? Well, we had looked at, as I said, weíve done a lot of work on this. And did I expected the first blow to the head, illegal blow based upon the criteria we arrived at over the summer it was going to add up to 20, no? Neither did I think that all the criteria were going to be involved in one play.

And in the future we understand that having issued a 20?game suspension took play after this kind of hit was, itís going to have people speculating every time itís a hit delivered and a player gets hurt.

And weíre not foolish enough to think there wonít be injuries in the game of hockey through body checks. And every time there is a body check and thereís an injury, the question is going to be asked how many games? Well, body checking is still allowed in our game. And there will be injuries. Itís when those body checks are delivered in an illegal fashion and weíll have to determine that.

And we donít want the players at all to be worried about delivering a hit. Theyíre professionals. They understand, and they understand probably more than anybody how a hit should be delivered and when and where and whatís illegal and whatís not legal. Weíve explained that clearly on our discipline memo as well as on the videotape that we distributed to every team in the league.

Q. So we can understand, if the Steve Moore hit on Marcus Naslund happened today, would that still be a zero?game suspension?

COLIN CAMPBELL: Okay, youíre testing my memory here. I still think it would be a zero?game suspension. I donít think ?? Iíd have to watch it again based upon the criteria. I donít think he obviously lunged, because I think Marcus Naslund was kind of down low. But again, Iíd have to watch it again to really apply the criteria that we determined last summer. But my gut still tells me no.

Q. Part of the reason I ask that is the follow?up you referred to, and that is when Brad May issued the bounty or comments. When you hear the McGrattanís comments, are you not tempted to just suspend him, maybe even for the games that they play against each other? Is this the kind of thing you want in the NHL? And if it goes unpunished, what is to stop it from happening again? And I know what youíll probably say something like, Well, watch the game and see what happens. But isnít that too late once the public perception gets out there that there are some sorts of bounties or paybacks?

COLIN CAMPBELL: Well, because you said it maybe what are players thinking? Do we suspend them? If he said it, we deal with it now, and we donít suspend him for saying that unless we feel the statement was over the top.

Weíve dealt already with Bryan Murray and that was enough. If heís foolish enough to do something stupid, itís going to, as I said, just take a look what happened in the other situation and I had a discussion with Bryan Murray about that.

This is not only Brian McGrattanís area of concern now, itís the whole Ottawa organizationís area of concern because Brian McGrattan said that.

Q. You donít feel itís too late if something happens after the case like it did in the Bertuzzi matter?

COLIN CAMPBELL: Well, youíre speculating now. We hope none of those things happen, but weíll deal with it if something happens.

Q. Two questions: Can you give me an idea ?? there was so much outrage by players who saw the hit who were universally condemning. Some who said ban him. But everybody said you have to treat this one severely. How much does the players, the community of hockey in the NHL and the players reaction because they know the lines and what goes and what doesnít go. How much does that play into your decision? And I have a follow?up.

COLIN CAMPBELL: Well, I tried ?? this is a little bit longer than we normally take to render a decision after a situation takes place. This happened Monday night, Tuesday night, and now itís Friday. Normally, we act the next day. However, this had some different overtones and obviously severe repercussions to it, so we took a couple days longer. And being an in?person hearing it usually takes another day yet.

But I would say that I tried not to ?? I tried to stay as free as I could from any outside influences and just dealt with what I had to deal with as far as the stakeholders themselves and what we dealt with this summer.

As far as the comment thatís youíre referring to, if players are commenting on this, theyíre the key stakeholders. Itís about their careers and about protecting their heads. And there are certain players in the game that play different styles. Some score goals, some are finesse players, some do a lot of hitting. They understand what should be involved in the game of hockey.

And even if you played the game like I have, itís been so long ago, things changed now whether youíre a coach or manager now. I think you need that input from players and thatís why the Competition Committee has been very helpful for us.

And as I said, we beat this topic up hard with the Competition Committee. And they represented the players, and I think they did an excellent job. Youíre talking about players like Shanahan, and Iginla, and Rob Blake who has been around a long time. Theyíre not adverse to physical play themselves. But when you cross that line, no player likes it when they cross the line. Theyíll probably give you the most truthful answer of all. Other than if itís an Ottawa player or Philly player, I think the two are emotionally involved.

Q. And the fact that Downie apologized publicly after the game and in the phone call to McAmmond, I guess, perhaps yesterday. How much had he not done that might that have affected the length of suspension? How much did that weigh into your decision?

COLIN CAMPBELL: I donít think thatís a real important criteria. Itís nice of the young man to do that, and from Dean McAmmondís position itís nice. But as far as part of the discipline structure, itís not part of our structure.

Q. You had mentioned as part of your statement that this was a deliberate and dangerous hit and had no place in our league. And I wonder how you define or determined basically what is dangerous in this kind of case?

COLIN CAMPBELL: Well, again, going into this press conference, Gary Meagher read the statement, and we had established criteria. And there are five criteria as far as late, as far as targeting the head, as far as leaving your feet and launching yourself. There are a few others, repeat offender, et cetera, so thatís on the press release.

And as far as saying that thatís one thing, as far as feeling it and knowing it, myself, Mike Murphy, Kris King, all of hockey operations have worked as we said on this press conference time and time again with the stakeholders of the game, being the players, coaches, managers and owners on whatís acceptable and whatís not acceptable. This has been distributed to all of the teams. The players have watched it.

And weíd be fools if we didnít do anything. We wouldnít be worth having a department if we didnít act on this after telling the players that we would act on it. And the players have asked us to act on it. So they want to have a tough game, they want to have a hitting game, but they want a safe game as well.

Q. The other night in the Rangers?Islanders game, Andy Sutton came up high on Callahan with an elbow. After the game, Tom sort of referenced the videotapes that you did send out. And he characterized that as one of the hits that youíre trying to get rid of. My question is you see that hit, and why did that one not result in penalties?

COLIN CAMPBELL: Well, I talked to Andy Sutton yesterday morning. I received that tape. We canít act as quickly, because we donít get the games like we get them during the season when theyíre televised.

But that really wasnít part of what weíre clamping down on. That was something weíve always clamped down on. Andy Sutton was suspended before for a hit like that against the glass. And this is an elbow he launched that did not injure the player, and the player ducked to get out of the way. And I fined Andy Sutton for that play itself, and warned Andy Sutton that this is a suspendable offense. And whether youíre 6í6Ē and heís 5í8Ē, it doesnít matter.

So as far as a legal blow to the head, that wasnít legal, that was illegal. But there was no injury, and I donít think he made complete contact from what I saw there was no injury on the play.

Q. How big of a factor is injury as far as how much discipline does come out after that?

COLIN CAMPBELL: Injury is important. Last year Chris Pronger throws an elbow and doesnít make contact, he gets nothing. Chris Pronger throws an elbow and makes contact with the head, itís a two?minute penalty. Because thereís a two?minute penalty for elbowing, if you elbow a player in the head, the shoulder, the arm, the rear end. If he causes an injury that, player has to be accountable for the injury he causes.

So that certainly is a key factor, and weíve made that point. If you cause an injury, get ready, you could be susceptible to a suspension and a long suspension.

Q. Iím just wondering, I know that Mr. Downie was considered a first?time offender by league standards. But Iím just wondering if his history in the Ontario Hockey League had any bearing on the suspension? And secondly, Iím still a little unclear as to what happens if he is sent down to the American Hockey League? Can he play in the American Hockey League if heís sent down? And if they choose to honor the suspension does that take games off the NHL suspension or is he suspended 20 NHL games regardless of whether or not he plays in the American Hockey League?

COLIN CAMPBELL: Heís suspended for 20 games in the National Hockey League. I understand your question, weíve discussed this and thrown this around. There are implications as far as the cap count on the Philadelphia Flyers. There are implications on the roster, the 23?man roster. And how they look at this suspension and how they deal with the American Hockey League, thatís up to Dave Andrews.

We treat theirs the same way we treat ours. Weíve got our own issues and theyíve got their own issues. But he has to serve 20 games in this league. And in the past, players were allowed to play in the other league, being it our league or the AHL, depending on suspension. But they had to serve the suspension in the league they received the suspension in.

Q. And what about his past as an Ontario Hockey League player? Did that come into play at all in your thinking in this one?

COLIN CAMPBELL: Well, Iíd be lying if I said I wasnít aware of Steve Downieís ?? if you follow hockey at all, you follow hockey in all leagues as we all do here. However, when they come to our league, he has a clean slate. And we do not consider what he did in any other league and repeat offender is only what he does in the National Hockey League.

We have different rules here. There could be a player that hit the head legally in the OHL and got suspended. We donít look at that kind of play in our league level, so thereís different aspects to that. And thereís a legal aspect to that, too.

So he had to be considered a first time offender, which we did do. And that is probably the only criteria that did not cut it when we looked at the hit that he laid on Dean McAmmond the other night.

By Scott Burnside
No one team wished more for the regular season to last a little longer than the Colorado Avalanche. After a disappointing start, the Avs chased the Calgary Flames down the stretch with a 15-2-2 closing run, and Colorado even had one more win than the Flames. But the Avs' ninth-place finish in the West ended a streak of 11 straight postseason appearances for the franchise and marked the first nonplayoff season since the team moved west from Quebec.

In some ways, the decline was to be expected following years of general manager Pierre Lacroix mortgaging the team's future to stockpile veteran free agents in the free-spending years before the lockout. What is surprising is the rapid fashion in which new GM Francois Giguere has re-established the Avs as a playoff team. Buoyed by the play of Calder Trophy nominee Paul Stastny and fellow rookie Wojtek Wolski, Giguere went out and shored up his defense with Scott Hannan and injected more leadership and grit in the form of longtime Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Smyth. The goaltending is still a bit iffy, but solid enough that the Avs could very easily jump back to the top of the heap in the ultra-competitive Northwest.

OFFENSE
The Avs finished in a tie with Nashville as the most prolific offensive team in the Western Conference, a bit of a surprise given the departure of mainstays Rob Blake and Peter Forsberg, among others, in recent years. The good news is the Avs' scoring is nicely spread out. They had five 20-goal scorers and Smyth should add to that total (he had 36 last season). Stastny was the biggest surprise, setting a rookie record with a 19-game points streak. The Avs didn't get much help offensively from the back end beyond John-Michael Liles, who continues to impress with his puck-moving abilities and hockey smarts. Jordan Leopold, who played in only 15 games thanks to a variety of injuries, should help at both ends of the ice.

One wonders if captain Joe Sakic can repeat his 100-point performance, but we wondered whether he could do it last season, too. It didn't seem to bother the future Hall of Famer. The Avs boasted the fourth-best power play in the league, and there's no reason that should change much.

DEFENSE
If you can point to one element of the Avs' game that likely cost them a playoff berth, it was their defensive play. In a conference that boasted some of the league's best defenses, the Avs ranked 18th, and that wasn't quite good enough. Their penalty-killing unit was 23rd and that will have to improve, and should, with the addition of the tough-nosed Hannan. While Liles has taken strides since the lockout, the past two seasons have been less than ideal for Leopold. A member of the U.S. Olympic team in 2006, Leopold ran afoul of Darryl Sutter in Calgary and ended up being dealt to Colorado for Alex Tanguay. Leopold had just two goals in 2005-06 and then suffered through an injury-plagued campaign last season. He needs to get back on track for the Avs to get better on the back end.

GOALTENDING
There are two schools of thought regarding starting netminder Peter Budaj. Either he's pretty much topped out and will never be more than a B or B-plus goalie, or he's slowly building himself into a top-level netminder who could take the Avs deep in the playoffs. This season will go a long way in determining which school of thought prevails. Budaj was solid enough, posting a 31-16-6 record in his second season as the de facto starter in Colorado. One of the issues for Budaj will be the perpetual shadow cast by backup Jose Theodore, the former Vezina and Hart Trophy winner who is now being paid $6 million to open the door at the end of the Avs' bench. That's not good money management in the cap world, and you can bet Giguere will be looking for a taker for Theodore and his contract. Good luck.

COACHING
Joel Quenneville has long been considered one of the top coaches in the NHL, and with good reason. Still, the big prize, or even a trip to the big Stanley Cup finals, has eluded the Windsor, Ontario, native despite having very good teams in St. Louis. He isn't likely to get to the Cup finals this season, but it may not be that far off with this Avs team.

Next spring, when writers sit down at their computers and vote for some of the NHL trophies for the 2007-08 season, they will have, as they always do, reams and/or megabytes of information at their disposal.

Offensive production is always most persuasive, and usually with considerable justification. But I have the feeling that if minds are open to a defenseman who doesn't necessarily making eye-popping contributions at the offensive end, as they were in 2003 when the Blues' Barret Jackman won the Calder Trophy, the 2008 rookie of the year voting could come down to the All-American Johnson boys.

Jack Johnson, left, played a five-game stint with the Kings last season after Michigan bowed out of the NCAA Tournament.

Erik Johnson of the Blues.

Jack Johnson of the Kings.

They're not related, but share some crossed paths and similarities of background. Both played for the U.S. National Team Development program before heading off to brief forays in college, Erik for one season with the Minnesota Gophers and Jack for two seasons with the Michigan Wolverines. They also have been World Junior Championship teammates.

In the past 30 years, five defensemen have won the Calder: Jackman, the Islanders' Bryan Berard in 1997, the Rangers' Brian Leetch in 1989, the Flames' Gary Suter in 1986 and the Bruins' Ray Bourque in 1980. (In 1978, Barry Beck, menacing on virtually every level as a rookie at age 20 before injuries derailed his career, had a Calder-worthy season with the Colorado Rockies, scoring 22 goals and shining defensively for a team that finished with 59 points. The only problem was that Mike Bossy burst onto the scene with the Islanders the same season and rightfully won the award.)

Not that it means anything, but three of the five defensemen among that group -- Berard, Leetch and Suter -- are American, like the Johnsons. It's perhaps more significant that Leetch, Suter and Bourque, while undeniably elite all-around defensemen (Suter to a lesser degree), helped their Calder causes by posting an average of 19 goals and 68 points in their rookie seasons.

So the odds may be against the Johnsons, even if they play well when thrown into the mix with previously struggling franchises.

Jack, the smaller of the Johnsons at 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, likely will have more significant offensive numbers with the Kings, both because of the nature of his game and the role he will play. He got his feet wet during a five-game stint with the Kings last season after Michigan didn't advance out of the NCAA West Regional, and that can't hurt Johnson. The Hurricanes will be kicking themselves for trading his rights (and Oleg Tverdovsky) to the Kings in September 2006 in the deal that landed them Eric Belanger and Tim Gleason, a decent prospect who had been the Senators' No. 1 pick in 2003. That's not nearly enough to justify a largely unjustifiable deal in the first place. Hurricanes fans should be griping about it in the RBC Center tailgates for years.

The trick, of course, will be for Johnson not to get beaten down by what is likely to be the Kings' continued 2007-08 struggles, beginning in London, albeit in a rebuilding process headed in the right direction. His plus/minus could get ugly, and that could offset his offensive production for some voters.

And Erik Johnson? At 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, and still only 19, he's more commanding physically and any judgment of him will have to take into consideration the immeasurables, including his sweeping work in the defensive end and his ability to get the puck up the ice. It's hard for a teenager to be imposing, but he will be able to pull it off for a Blues team that actually was decent under coach Andy Murray in the second half.

The Calder Trophy race also will include some dynamite young forwards who will put up significant offensive numbers. If it's Patrick Kane of the Blackhawks, for example, he might get extra credit (subconsciously, but this is the way it works) for doing it immediately after his draft year, and perhaps for helping re-energize the NHL in Chicago, with its huge pool of knowledgeable and passionate fans holding the Hawks at arm's length because of disillusion.

That kind of reinvigoration would get my attention, and I'm rooting for it, whether it comes from Kane or ex-University of North Dakota center Jonathan Toews, a terrific two-way player who helped Canada to the 2006 and 2007 World Junior Championship titles and is recovering from a broken finger suffered in an early exhibition game. And certainly, if Kane and/or Toews are instrumental in getting the United Center full and rocking again, they'll be worthy of major consideration.

There are a handful of other possible Calder candidates, of course, and listing them would be perilous, in part because a couple of them are going to be at least a bit surprising. A year ago, was anyone expecting Colorado's Paul Stastny to be among the Calder finalists, regardless of his lineage? Even Anze Kopitar's strong season at Los Angeles was more than expected.

So if anyone wants to get into tossing in the "what-abouts" ("Wait a minute, what about Ö?"), there are other names to throw into the mix.

ē The Capitals' Nicklas Backstrom, who will likely have a productive rookie season, and would get more YouTube and "SportsCenter" time if he beats Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom at Washington on Feb. 26.

ē Edmonton center Andrew Cogliano has joined the Oilers from the University of Michigan and played on Canada's WJC winners.

ē There's also ex-Wolverines center T.J. Hensick, who is likely to stick with the Avalanche.

ē Thrashers center Bryan Little could step up.

ē With Phoenix still rebuilding, young centers Martin Hanzal and Peter Mueller could get enough work and be productive enough to be in the mix.

ē Speaking of genes, Ottawa winger Nick Foligno (Mike's son) and Rangers defenseman Marc Staal also have the right ones. Even among defensemen, the Penguins' prominence will help rookie Kristopher Letang.

But I'm going to stick with this: If voters are willing to take hard looks back to the blue line and consider the big picture, the winner will be a Johnson.

ESPN has edited a column by SportsCenter anchor and hockey writer John Buccigross to no longer include a reference to a potential reunion between the network and the National Hockey League.

Buccigross, writing the season debut of his weekly hockey column, speculated that ESPN would gain the rights to air National Hockey League games for the first time since 2004.

"NHL players want it, the NHL wants it and ESPN wants it," Buccigross wrote, "NBC and Versus somewhat holds the cards however, so we will have to wait and see; but my guess is yes. ESPN will have a piece of the pie."

That entire portion of the article has now been omitted. Earlier this summer, John Ourand and Tripp Mickle of The Sports Business Journal reported that NHL and ESPN officials were in preliminary discussions to air NHL games on ESPN2 "as soon as the 2008-09

I saw a piece the other day that where John Buccigross had mentioned ESPN was almost certain to get Hockey back on the network. It was in an article by Sports Business Daily, so I jumped over to Buccigross' page to see what the statement was. I couldn't find anything related at all in any of his pieces so I just passed on the item all together.

ESPN has edited a column by SportsCenter anchor and hockey writer John Buccigross to no longer include a reference to a potential reunion between the network and the National Hockey League. Buccigross, writing the season debut of his weekly hockey column, speculated that ESPN would gain the rights to air National Hockey League games for the first time since 2004.

"NHL players want it, the NHL wants it and ESPN wants it," Buccigross wrote, "NBC and Versus somewhat holds the cards however, so we will have to wait and see; but my guess is yes. ESPN will have a piece of the pie."

That is actually a good move by ESPN since the decision is solely that of NBC, but blogs scare the hell out of me. Putting up un-edited content like that is horrible and cannot be tolerated! (I kid, I kid)

Barry Melrose is rolling over in his grave.......What's that? He's not dead Well then.....warm up that mullet my friend.

Weird. Brent Sopel travels to Toronto with the Wings yesterday, only to tell them heís signed a one-year deal with the Blackhawks. It makes sense, from a fashion standpoint.

A2Y Reader, SRT

good luck with your fellow giveaway partner with the equally dashing hairÖ

Letís see what we can find on this one, eh?

Around 8:20 last night the Leafs announcers told us Chicago has signed Brent Sopel to a one-year deal worth 1.5 million. TSN confirmed it a few minutes later.

Sopel travelled with the Red Wings to Toronto on Friday afternoon, and was scheduled to play against the Maple Leafs in a pre-season game that night, but informed the team shortly before the game that he was in serious contract talks with another club.

Pretty straightforward, right? Read further.

He had been in Detroitís training camp on a tryout basis, and was offered a contract by the Red Wings shortly before signing with Chicago.

Heíd been offered a contract by the Wings, then signed with Chicago? What? Yep. Not only did the Wings offer him a contract, but they did it twice. They tried to sign him Thursday, then again yesterday. He was supposed to play last night, then said ďnope. not playing. not gonna play and you canít make me.Ē Exact words? No.

ďI donít know the rules for sure, but I thought when he was trying out for you, he was trying out for you,Ē said Babcock. ďHe just told me before the game he wasnít playing. Obviously we were planning on him playing. I guess I donít know the rules very good and weíll have to figure it out.

ďIf you donít want to be a Red Wing, you donít want to be a Red Wings. Itís real simple. I think the opportunity here is fantastic. Over the last few years, anybody thatís come here has had a career year. If we just look at finances, if you have a career year, you get paid a ton the next year.Ē

I really wished the NHL would televise preseason games iam assuming you guys would also like to see our young talent play when trying to make the team, having to depend on box scores until the season starts is kinda stupid.